This is my recreation of the original Fender Champ, model based on circuit 5F1
Friday, July 18, 2008
My First Tube Masterpiece
This is my recreation of the original Fender Champ, model based on circuit 5F1
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
The mighty mighty Fender Super Champ!
One of the more renowned amps of the Paul Rivera era of Fender, the Super Champ certainly earned its title. According to the serial number, mine is an early 1982 edition(the picture above is not mine). With two 6V6 power tubes, this "champ" puts out 18 watts through a 10" speaker. I believe mine is still the original Electro-voice. Apparently this was quite a big deal as Fender was typically using Jensen and Eminence speakers at the time. It seems funny that this became the "Super Champ" as it seems more like a "Mini Deluxe Reverb." Just a thought. Different from the older champs usually around 5 watts through a much smaller speaker, the Super Champ is certainly powerful enough to take gigging. And if one were to drive it through a decent 1x12 or 2x12 cabinet, you would have a seriously loud amp! Everything in the amp is tube except a solid state rectifier. It appears that Fender is finally reissuing their vintage amps with tube rectification again! During this period and for awhile to follow, Fender, along with many other companies stopped using tube rectifiers as solid state proved to be more reliable and quieter. My preference remains with tube rectification, as it gives a nice natural compression while playing. Perhaps not so audible, but a great change in the touch.
The line out feature for recording is fantastic. It does require that you unplug the speaker however, so you can only hear yourself through the studio monitors.
My only real complaint is the lead channel. 1.) Tremolo was taken away. 2.) Whenever I turn on the lead channel, the reverb basically disappears. 3.) Clipping. The lead channel actually sounds fantastic. But once you take the lead level over 8, the clipping begins. Especially the bottom end really starts to fart out.
If anyone knows of a solution to problems 2 or 3, please feel free to write in!
These small issues are really insignificant for the amp as a whole, which will remain part of my fleet of amps for a long time.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Lord Hiwatt
God bless you David Reeves. A recent addition to my collection, the Hiwatt Custom 7 Combo amp is absolutely amazing. This amp features one 10 inch Fane speaker, a birch cabinet, class A electronics, and Partridge transformers. At a seemingly low 7 watts, this amp still puts out an incredible amount of sound. The Fane speaker is rated at 16 ohms, so if you needed the amp to be louder, you could always plug into a cabinet. Regardless, the Custom 7 makes for a fantastic recording, rehearsing, and even small venue gigging amplifier. The Custom 7 really will impress you from every angle. Even when you first turn the amp on, what's that you hear? Nothing.....that is correct, unlike most amps on the market which produce some audible hum, the Hiwatt is virtually silent when you are not playing. An incredible, warm transparent tone unlike anything else, the Hiwatt is more than the money. No question, my favorite amp. Period.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Daphne Update
As mentioned in an earlier blog, I have a new dog, Daphne. She is four months old, and totally awesome. Included is a picture of her with her new Puppia harness.
Maxon AD-9 Pro
A recent acquisition, the Maxon AD-9 Pro is bar none my favorite analog delay. Problems frequently associated with analog delays such as hiss and general noise are virtually nonexistent. Different from many of the popular delays on the market leaning more towards the loop and tap tempo echo, the AD-9 Pro only allows up to 450ms. This type of delay is used more for the traditional "slap-back" echo sounds and that of early echoes such Pink Floyd's earlier works. With both a dry and wet output, I run this through a Hiwatt Custom 7 combo, and an original 1982 Fender Super Champ respectively. Even with the presence of several IC's the AD-9 Pro has a very rich, warm sound. Especially considering the price, at roughly $300, I would take this over any comparable unit on the market.
Friday, January 4, 2008
What?
Is anyone else really surprised by the results in Iowa?
This is going to be an interesting year.
In other news: Meet Daphne, a 3 month old pug!
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